The holidays are a perfect time to catch up on the reading that’s alluded you (even if that takes the form of unread information in open browser tabs), and I’m glad to be catching up on a collaboration by two projects I admire, the portfolio creation assistance co. liveBooks’ RESOLVE blog and Andy Adams’ curated community gallery Flak Photo. Together they solicited the ideas of art bloggers and photographers about “the most prescient innovations they’ve seen in the photobook and publishing industries,” and the result is a collection of well thought out posts that cover topics from self-publication (Jack Howard on Adorama), art buying (Heather Morton) and the usability of digital magazines (Jim Casper for Lens Culture, which includes Mag+’s eye-popping digital magazine prototype).
Adams said his motivation for asking was an eagerness “to discover new kinds of creative collaboration within the photoblogosphere and hope this will provide an opportunity for the online community to collectively learn more about the future of photography.” I hope this dialogue has wider implications than on images alone, and I think we’re overdue for more public discussion of the monetization of all creative media (potentially in the hopes of putting the 2000s and their sky-is-falling reactions behind us). In thinking about future funding for physical and online published work, I’m eager to see a) community recognition of more original and investigative work; b) authenticity, and not just in compliance with the FTC; and c) more funded channels for up-and-coming writers and artists to share their work. Too much to ask?
As readers of TheSanFranista know, my mom is a much craftier individual than her eldest (recent evidence includes the buttons she’s stacked and repurposed as magnets and the colorful handsewn gift bags our family uses for holidays). Which isn’t to say I don’t hoard materials for projects largely inspired by Make’s sister publication, Craft; thankfully the cessation of the print edition didn’t close it entirely (RIP to Bon Appetit, another magazine I liked for its details on undertakings I would never complete).
Craftzine’s site refresh is great for photos, and not just of projects (or another sewn owl, halleliuah): a “Travel Crafty” feature on Berlin includes large images and descriptions of shops, markets and cafes that a print pub would be hard pressed to replicate. The hemming pants video is one I’m not likely to watch (though a lengthening instuctional would be nice), but I wish I’d known about the short piece on making your own soda before purchasing a Soda Stream as a gift earlier this month. Seattle’s Urban Craft Uprising and Lion Brand Studios are also mutlimedia subjects, and I’m glad that there’s enough content beyond how to’s for those who find themselves the least creation-capable in their families.
At one of this year’s Indie Marts I got turned onto Taxi CDC, a clothes and boots reconstruction outfit that’s returning to SF this week. They’ll be featured today and tomorrow as Collective (1453 Valencia at 26th) hosts custom redesign days, a chance to have your vintage wares fit and fixed (and potentially transformed into another item entirely). Gangs of San Francisco, Queen of Hearts Apparel and Nooworks will also be on site should that hard-to-shop-for giftee potentially be left empty handed.
When I moved to the Bay Area I was fascinated by the news that Berkeley had a tool lending library. So people could steal the city’s hammers and hurt their neighbors with public property? (It’s worth noting that I grew up close to Detroit.)
But the model has its fans–so much so that it’s entered the citizen sharing space online. Micki Krimmel (who gave a fantastic presentation on learning lessons for romantic relationships from roller derby at December’s Ignite Bay Area) was frustrated upon having to purchase a rarely-used backpack for a trip to Thailand after being unable to find one to borrow. Knowing she also had a slew of stuff that only gets used rarely, she created NeighborGoods.net, a platform for sharing items with friends and neighbors. more
Many are the SF friends who have said I’d get a lot out of a conversation with interaction and web designer Emily Chang. And they’re right: the UI expert (whose worked with the likes of MIT, IDEO, and GigaOm) is disarmingly knowledgeable about social software and apps. Her ideas about sculpture as a way to working on the web and the relevance of design education are shared here.
SF: Your work combines user interface design, wearable art and documentation of hot web apps and ideas. How did that develop?
EC: I got my start on the web while I was getting my Masters of Fine Art degree in grad school. At the time, the commercial web was just starting and I happened to get a graduate assistantship in the Electronic Media department at the University at Buffalo, where my then-boyfriend (now husband, Max Kiesler) was also a graduate researcher. Once I started on the web, I was hooked. Growing up, I was always interested in technology and computers (went to computer camp when I was 10) and studied art and literature in college. The complexity of creating on the web captured my attention and I found the iterative process somehow similar and as satisfying as the process-intense techniques in sculpture. With the graduate assistantship, I started as an information architect and later became the first interface/interaction designer on the team. My background in art and humanities was a good fit for organizing information and creating user interfaces. more
The phrase is borrowed from local tee designer WilloToons (“Eat. Rock. Repeat.” onesies, anyone?), who will be sharing her work at The Noise Pop Holiday Shop tonight at The Verdi Club. The space is low lit and perfect for browsing (and tasting–I’m imagining tasting Tcho Chocolate while trying on FiftySeven-ThirtyThree–replacing visions of sugarplums).
Up the street in the Mission, the underground market ForageSF will be taking place at 2755 Bryant on Friday. Between homemade empanadas and Jewish deli fare, it could really be wherever it wants to be and people would still come for items from local industrial kitchens. Sarsaparilla and other treats are being made available for a donation (speaking of donation-based, the website for Rusty Wells’ Urban Flow yoga studio went live today and details plans for a New Year’s Eve opening).
I’m a big fan of the work–digital and physical–of the Gray Area Foundation for the Arts, and their second phase expansion opening this weekend should be no exception. The project boutique Archetype was developed to extend the organization’s “mission of building social consciousness through digital culture onto the runway and into the marketplace,” and wares by the likes of Coma and Cotton and Cute Circuit Wearable Tech will debut this weekend.
Say that, like me, you have a few teen gals on your holiday list (and that that list has been hiding under a lot of others) and have just missed the USPS’ promise to deliver by the 25th. SF’s own Hilside Bags to the rescue–they’re colorful, fit in your carry on and are available at Perch and the Contemporary Jewish Museum.
Designer Hilary Wehlitz started sewing remnant fabrics from old jeans in high school and has since turned to water resistant oilcloth for the weekender, crusier, clutch, and other sizes. Your travel cosmetics (or your giftees’) have never looked so good.
I’ll spare you a slew of holiday soiree notes, but the design shop Minimal up the street from me in Hayes Valley is worth peeking your head into this weekend. The Scandinavian homewares and colorful Alexxi corkscrews may help you cross a few names of your list (and there is to be chocolate and sparkling wine for you too).
Addendum: This event is actually closed, but do pay them a visit–the wares are lovely.
I had been largely turned off by the local SMUIN Ballet Co.’s stripper-esque dance posters and risque branding (blame it on years as a rat in The Toledo Ballet’s Nutcracker, or not understanding what audience they were trying to reach). But, this being le saison, I’ll be giving their holiday program at the Yerba Beuna Center for the Arts a go. It opens on December 17 with a program that combines classics and “sexy cool Christmas” (naturally, there will be drinks, and is a raffle prize from Bar Method any suprise?).
The holidays are a perfect time to catch up on the reading that’s alluded you (even if that takes the form of unread information in open browser tabs), and I’m glad to be catching up on a collaboration by two projects I admire, the portfolio creation assistance co. liveBooks’ RESOLVE blog and Andy Adams’ curated community gallery Flak Photo. Together they solicited the ideas of art bloggers and photographers about “the most prescient innovations they’ve seen in the photobook and publishing industries,” and the result is a collection of well thought out posts that cover topics from self-publication (Jack Howard on Adorama), art buying (Heather Morton) and the usability of digital magazines (Jim Casper for Lens Culture, which includes Mag+’s eye-popping digital magazine prototype).
The phrase is borrowed from local tee designer 
